Hydration Facts
Hydration is one of the most important aspects of a healthy and active medical weight loss program. Keeping your body well-hydrated will give your body the care and energy it needs to stay up and active throughout the day. Here are some well-known assumptions about hydration and the truths behind them.
You need to drink 64 ounces of water every day to stay hydrated.
This is one of the more widely accepted assumptions about hydration, but it’s not quite accurate. There’s variance in the amount of water a particular individual needs in a day. One of the most accurate ways to find out how much you should be drinking is to drink enough water for you to need to use the restroom once every two to four hours, and that your urine is light in color. Having dark urine may be a sign of dehydration—though certain medications may affect the color, so keep that in mind.
Being dehydrated is uncomfortable, but it isn’t dangerous.
Though most people will usually only experience mild symptoms of dehydration, it can be a serious health concern and require medical attention. Mild symptoms of dehydration include:
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Decreased urination
Some of the more dangerous symptoms of dehydration include:
- Vomiting
- Seizures
- Kidney failure
If you’re thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.
This one is partially true. Feeling thirsty is definitely a sign that you should drink something, but it’s not necessarily a sign of dehydration. If you’re feeling extreme thirst, you’re very likely to be dehydrated. However, if it’s just run-of-the-mill thirst, the amount of water that your body is lacking is trivial, and your body is basically telling you to drink water because you may soon be dehydrated.
If you’re active, you need to drink sports drinks.
If you’re only working out for less than an hour at a time with light exercise, water is plenty. The electrolytes and glycogen that sports drinks are meant to replenish won’t get depleted until after an hour of intense exercise.